The Impossible Assassin
by The Thirteenth Doctor
Summary: After being taken from their families by an Assassin, two recruits discover that their world is locked in a war fought between two ancient orders for over a millennium. Can these two gifted Assassins end the war, or destroy everything they fight to save? Rated M for strong language and violence.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The air was warm and the wind was quiet. To me, it seemed a little too quiet. Then again, the first time is always tense. I never believed, but now I see the reason why. I started to get worried. I started to doubt that I could do the deed. Then, over my earpiece, I heard a voice, the voice of my companion.

"Hey, Wyatt, you doing okay? If you can't do it, then we can call in our backup to finish the job." I responded quietly, "Collin, this man has a feather on his head. If we can't pull this one off, who knows when we'll get another chance? We have to do this now. I'm almost ready. Just give me another ten minutes to find an infil and exfil point."

"All right. Just give me the signal if you have to get out of there, and I'll give you some cover." I was silently praying that I wouldn't need that cover, but I had to be prepared for anything. I walked towards my target: a man, inside a building run by our enemies, who was responsible for the deaths of many men and women. I was to be his judge, jury, and executioner. As I approached the building, my allies, dressed as employees, walked me past the security guards.

"Good luck, Wyatt. May God guide your blade this day. Peace be upon you, brother," I heard one of them mumble to me.

"The same to you, brother," I responded. I walked through the plain white hallways of the building towards a conference, where my target was supposed to provide a demonstration of his new plan to "modernize" the world. As I approached, I saw him. He was a tall man; about six feet tall, with a dark look in his eyes and a twitch in his hands. I knew I couldn't strike until I could get closer to the podium. I slowly made my way towards him, trying to look like I belonged. Then, through my earpiece, I heard a slight dinging noise; I knew then that I had a chance. I moved towards the stage, trying not to alert security. With the conference ending, I could strike. I unsheathed my hidden blade and moved in for the kill. Unfortunately, I mis-stepped, and my target saw me. Knowing I had only seconds to complete the mission, I threw a security guard to the ground and used him as a springboard, jumping off the guard's back, and thrusting my blade into my target's throat. The feeling of his skin and bone giving way under my hand is one I will never forget. As we hit the ground, I withdrew my blade, put the eagle feather to the bleeding gash on his neck, and began to run for the doors, shoving people in every direction. The noise in the room had risen to unbearable levels. I used this distraction to get away cleanly. But, I had a new problem. I couldn't leave through the main entrances. The guards saw me and began to chase me. I ran for a staircase to reach the upper floors. Once I reached the roof, I could see Collin had done what he needed to. Hearing the guards catching up to me, I jumped off of the roof.

**End of prologue. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Perhaps I should start at the beginning. This whole change started after a fight I got into one day. Apparently, I got on the wrong side of someone in my physical education class. He told me to meet him after school near the baseball diamonds. Slightly curious, I talked to my friend, Collin, about this apparent challenge, and he decided to accompany me. When I left, the wind was blowing, cold and fast, and the air smelled like pine pitch and grass.

When I got to the field, I suddenly realized I was in over my head. There were at least 20 of them, standing and appearing to be anxious to bring me down to my knees.

"Collin, what are we doing here? There's way too many of them for us to take on," I nervously said.

"Wyatt, you underestimate our abilities. They may be stronger, but we are faster. I know we can take these wimps on," he responded.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess we stand a chance. Let's do this."

We slowly walked up to them, and immediately they began their taunts. "What, you brought him to back you up? This will be easier than I thought. You won't last two minutes against us," I heard one of them say. I thought he was going to say something else, but I never gave him a chance to say anything more. I ran up to the one who had issued the taunt, and using the momentum I had built up, punched him in the stomach, chest, and face, all within the span of about two seconds. He just collapsed onto the ground. When Collin saw me start to move, he also started going after another one. Collin managed to take down one of the bigger guys in five seconds.

When they realized we knew what we were doing, they all charged us. I blocked each of their attacks with ease, and took each one down with two to seven well-placed blows. Collin was coping, but I soon noticed he was starting to be overwhelmed by the number of blows coming at him. I quickly finished one and threw him into the last two, and running up to them, I jumped, using them as an improvised springboard, throwing a kick into the back of one and catching another with my arm and forcing them both to the ground. With their focus broken, Collin used the distraction to subdue two with a punch to both their stomachs. They slowly surrounded us until we were back-to-back.

"Collin, maneuver 87!" I yelled. Both shoving off of each other, we drove our punches into them, finishing the last of them. We walked away with a few bruises, but what I didn't notice was that the security cameras were running. That day was the day my life changed forever.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After the fight we had just gotten into, I was worried about if anyone had seen it, but my fear slowly died off through the morning. However, right after 4th hour, Collin and I were called to the front office. As it so happened, we were both walking together. We looked at each other, and we shared a silent reaction: _what had we done wrong_?

After reaching the office, we were directed to one of the rarely used offices by the secretary. We were unsure why that particular room was being used, but we didn't question it. When I tried the door, it was unlocked and slightly open. We both entered and saw a man wearing military fatigues, standing by the window.

"Drop your packs by the door and take a seat," he said in a rough, gravelly voice. We obeyed immediately, wondering what he was doing here. Had we broken some federal law? We weren't sure what the man was doing here.

"So, do you know why you're here?" he asked.

"No, we don't," I responded.

"No clue, then? Well, let me fill you in. You two took on a group of men with ten times your numbers, and all at least twice as strong as you. Explain to me how you easily took them all down."

"Sir, with all due respect, they were planning to-"

"Just wait a moment. Your name is Wyatt, yes?"

"Yes, sir," I answered.

"You should have been beaten down, but you dodged their blows like they were moving through molasses. You absorbed all their blows and returned strategic punches to their vital points, quickly subduing them. And, the best part of all: you took one down and threw him into the other two surrounding you, using all of them as a springboard to assist Collin. Where did you learn this skill?"

We were both surprised. How did he know our names, and how did he find out about the fight?

"Yes, I know both your names. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lieutenant Colonel John Marsh. I also know you both show exceptional physical abilities, much higher than they should be for you. Collin, you have a higher strength then most people your age. You also show high levels of devotion to your friends. Wyatt, you are much more agile than anyone we have ever seen. You show bursts of speed that are unmatchable by most people. You have a high tolerance level, so you can run faster for longer distances. You also show a great talent for improvisation, as proven by your use of a "springboard." You also have a high intelligence. All of your abilities will be useful for you, should you accept my offer."

"What offer, sir?" Collin asked.

"An offer to join a division of the United States Army that is so classified, only the FBI, CIA, NSA, and White House know of your existence. We are called Mjolnir. We were formed by General George Washington and a man only known as Connor after the Revolutionary War. Our division combines the ancient arts of the Assassin Order and the military. Should you accept, you will both be entered into training to find your place in Mjolnir. However, I need your parents to agree. Luckily, I called them here before I called for you two. Collin, your guardians agreed. Wyatt, your parents were reluctant, but they have also agreed. Now, will you come?"

"Yes, sir!" we both said in unison.

"Good. You will be required to finish the day of school, but immediately following final bell, you will report to the front of the building, where an armored car will be waiting. Now, go. I will be waiting for you at 15:40. Don't be late."

We left, both in disbelief that we had been drafted to a classified, black-ops division. School seemed to drag on forever that day. Neither of us could wait to leave. Finally, the final bell rang and we headed for the doors. It turned out that Lt. Col. Marsh wasn't joking about the armored vehicle. We both got in and we were taken to a private jet, which, after a five-hour flight, landed somewhere near Langley Air Field. We never saw Marsh, but another armored truck was waiting for us. Our final leg of the trip took two hours. I couldn't identify the area we were now in, but the military installation was huge. It was painted white, and there were fences everywhere. We were escorted inside, where we finally met Lt. Col. Marsh again.

"All right, report to the Testing Room immediately. We must find out what you are best suited for." We left, not sure what we would end up doing.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As we walked down the quiet halls, I began to notice that the building was arranged in a symbol, although what symbol it was or what it represented was beyond me. Eventually, after wandering the building for about ten minutes, we found a door with a sign labeled "Testing Room." Collin opened the door and what I saw amazed me.

The room appeared to be an open field, but I saw no one else. All of a sudden, I felt a change in the air, and I spun around, trying to subdue whatever was behind me. I threw a fist into the spot where the air had moved, but all I felt was something touch my hand, and I just collapsed, holding my now limp left hand.

"Don't worry. You should regain the use of your hand in about two minutes. However, please refrain from attacking your teachers in future," I heard a young but harsh voice. When I could finally get up, I saw a man, no older than 30, standing near me. He was wearing civilian clothes, but for some odd reason, I couldn't quite focus on him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Collin trying to look at the man.

"Oh, right, forgot about the perception filter," he mumbled as he messed with his watch. After he finished, I could look at him, but he just looked us with a look that I thought was either intrigue or hunger to see our abilities.

"Sir, is this the training area?" I asked nervously.

"Yes, this is. Now…what are your names?"

"I'm Wyatt and this is Collin."

He just looked at me, and I just caught him muttering, "Well, what has Marsh dragged in this time? They don't look like they could even take out one guard."

"Sir, we may not look like much, but just give us a chance. We will prove we know what we're doing," I retorted. I could tell that Collin was confused about what had fueled that outburst, and the man just looked at me with some odd type of stare-down.

"Ah, not just pathetic-looking, but observant as well. Okay, then. Well, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Major Pellham. I run all training courses, and if you ever need extra help with a skill, I'm the one to ask. Now, please step into this chamber, and we'll get started."

We walked in, and the room's door sealed behind us. The room was plain white, with no control panels or plugs anywhere.

"What are we doing-" was the only thing I could choke out before a sudden burst of air sucked the air from my chest. We had somehow been transported to another time, or so it seemed. I just shrugged it off and began to check for weapons and armor. I had a decent set of metal armor on and was wearing some kind of robes, which were all white and seemed to be made just for me. I saw a pile of weapons laying about ten feet away. I ran for the weapons, and Collin was right behind me. I picked up a metal bracer, which had some sort of insignia on it that I couldn't identify, and began to look at it. I thought it was extra armor, so I slid it onto my left arm. I tried its fit, and when I flicked my wrist upwards, a small blade came out of the bracer! It was small, but long and looked lethal. I left it on, and grabbed a dagger and pistol from the pile. I saw Collin pick up the same weapons I did, and a message flashed to life right in front of me. It read, "Mission: Assassinate your target. Use any means necessary to complete the mission." Based on Collin's reaction, I guessed the same thing had happened to him.

"Well, let's go," I said quietly. We both went in different directions, heading for our targets. I found I could call up a map of the area, with my target marked by a gold diamond. I followed the map until, about 30 meters from my target, I ran into a group of guards, who were blocking the only entrance to the city. Then, I saw a beam jutting out of the wall of the city. I ran to the beam and using my speed, ran straight up the wall and grabbed the beam. I pulled myself up and jumped to the next one, continuing to hop across beams and grab loose stones to get over the walls. I got over the wall in about 2 minutes, finally reaching a rooftop. After looking around, I jumped down to another roof and started to run. After 20 seconds, I heard a warning. Instinctively, I ducked behind a chimney and reached for my pistol. Silently praising the gods that it had a silencer attached, I lined the guard up in my sights and, slowly pulling the trigger, shot him in the head. His head literally exploded after the bullet made contact. Not sparing him a second glance, I continued for about 20 meters along the roofs of houses and shops, shooting any guards I saw. I reached my target and, moving back ten meters; I dropped down to the street and slowly walked up to him, unsheathing the blade in my bracer. He questioned my presence, but I didn't give him a chance to draw his weapon. I stabbed him in the throat, making sure to cover his mouth to keep from alerting any guards. I slowly laid him on the ground, closed his eyes, and ran for the city entrance. However, what I saw after getting to the entrance worried me. The guards were gone, and I was free. I pulled up my map, and saw a new marker: a red one, in the shape of the same symbol I kept seeing. Selecting it, I saw that Collin was in trouble. A message then flashed in my vision: "Mission complete. Report to base immediately."

Completely ignoring the message, I ran for Collin's position, drawing my dagger. I finally reached his position. He was being overwhelmed again. Just like before, I grabbed one and threw him into the rest of the guards, incapacitating them, and once again unsheathing my blade, stabbed the final guard in the back, killing him. Next thing I knew, the landscape dissolved around us and we were back in the training room. All I could see was Pellham, and he looked ready to burst.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"What was that!? You disobeyed a direct order to disengage and return to base! Do you realize that this is the military, or did that fact just slip your mind? If the decision was up to me, you would both be dismissed and never allowed to return! Get out of my sight now!" he screamed at us. I thought we were doomed.

"Pellham, why are you insulting their honor? They both completed their objectives. I don't see the issue here," Marsh asked. He must have come to congratulate us or something.

"This doesn't concern you, Marsh. Wyatt disobeyed an order. If that hadn't been a test, he would've risked the lives of everyone on the assignment. As soon as the test resets, I'm putting them back in, and this time no orders will be broken."

"Pellham, he's the first recruit to pass the test with a near perfect score. He should be commended for that, not forced to retake it because he performed admirably."

"Marsh, when will you learn that I run this show here? They are inferior, and I will prove that right now-"

I never gave him a chance to prove his threat. I ran for the wall, scaled it, and pushed off, aiming for Pellham. I slammed into his back with as much force as I could and immediately ripped his brace off.

"What is this? Get off of me now, recruit! Drop my hidden blade now!" he yelled.

"So, it's called a hidden blade? What a fascinating name for such a lethal weapon. Lt. Col. Marsh, take this. I don't think he needs it anymore," I said, throwing the bracer to Marsh and letting Pellham get back on his feet.

"Thank you, Private. Pellham, why did Private Smith disarm your only weapon?"

"Because he's an insubordinate little punk who needs to be taught a lesson, that's why!"

"Wrong. He disarmed you because he knew you were a direct threat to his safety, and reacted exactly as I expected him to. Take this, and get out of my sight. We will talk about this later," Marsh explained, giving the blade back. Angrily grabbing it, he stormed out of the room, muttering under his breath.

"Sir, what will you do with me now?" I nervously asked, afraid I was in trouble.

"The only thing I can do. Privates Smith and Gardner, on behalf of the entire training staff and recruits here, I welcome you both to Mjolnir. Take these envelopes," he said, handing one to each of us. "Inside, you will find several items, including your rank and wrist-com, which are mandatory as they will be essential in missions and training. Now, I will address Private Smith. Smith, your test results were high in every category, qualifying you for every military class of Mjolnir. However, your highest score on the test determined your class. Your test has shown you are best suited to be an Assassin. Your armor will be light, but strong and can withstand almost any attack. Your weapons will mainly consist of a hidden blade, dagger, and pistol, although other weapons may be used. Your class is very useful in dispatching certain targets quickly and efficiently. Now, I present you with your primary weapon: a hidden blade." He gave me a bracer, similar to the one I used in the simulation, which I immediately put on. "This weapon is very lethal and efficient. Be sure to deactivate the extension mechanism when you're near allies."

"Now, I will address you, Private Gardner. You also scored well in most parts of the test, but your injury immediately disqualifies you for the Assassin class. However, you have been given the classification of the Soldier Assassin. While you won't do the stealth work, you are still very crucial to missions, as you provide cover if we are compromised. Your primary weapons are various assault rifles and pistols. You will also have a hidden blade, but you will have less use for it." Collin was given a blade identical to mine. "You will be staying in the Masyaf Division and will train with them also. Your envelopes have a map to the barracks. Morning meal is at 0800, so don't be late." We saluted and left for our barracks, wondering what kind of training was in store for us.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Hmmm…Masyaf. Why does that sound familiar?" I asked Collin. I felt like I knew it, but my mind was coming up empty.

"I don't know. It kinda sounds like the name of a city or a building. Either way, it sounds old. Very old. Try looking it up."

"I'm trying, but my wrist-com is denying me any access beyond my rank and class assignment. It keeps asking me for a code when I try to perform a search. I only get six tries, and I've already tried Masyaf, Mjolnir, assassin, my name, and hidden blade. None of them worked. Unless you've somehow got the code, let's change the subject."

Suddenly, I heard him say, "Try Altaïr once."

"Why do you say that?" I was quite surprised by his outburst. However, he told me that he didn't know. I tried it, making sure to add the inflection, and sure enough, the search function opened. Everything had activated. I then realized that the training program had accidentally left a subconscious message with that name.

I couldn't perform the search, however, because we had arrived at the door of our barracks. I tried swiping my wrist-com by the door's access panel, and it approved my identity. Collin, however, couldn't enter. I got him to do the same thing, and the door finally opened for the two of us. When we walked through, we saw a group of people standing at the back of the barracks. My wrist-com did not give me their names, but I did catch their ranks: they were all corporals and enlisted for about 7 months.

I must have been seen, because one of them said something to the others and they all turned to look at us. They stormed up to us, looking like they were seriously pissed off.

"Hey, you idiots lost or something? Florence Division is down the hall-hey, how'd you get inside anyways?" one of them asked me. I figured he was the leader of the group.

"Nope, we belong here. See? We've been assigned to Masyaf," I replied, showing him my official assignment from Marsh.

"No privates ever get into Masyaf on their first day. You must be mistaken."

"No. Look at our test scores," I calmly responded, pulling our results up from the database.

"Near perfect-how!? You're just an overly tall beanstalk, and the other one is a cripple, worthless to our cause. Save yourselves the embarrassment and-" he started to say, but I was not about to take any insult from anyone, not even if they outranked us. I ran towards him, and pushing off the floor at the last second, drop-kicked him in the stomach, dropping him instantaneously.

Coughing, he spit out, "Get those…insubordinate little…recruits!"

As soon as he said that, I saw all of them extend their hidden blades. I knew we were in trouble, so I told Collin, making sure they heard me, "Watch out. These little girls think they can kill us with their pathetic fighting skills."

"Kill them!" their leader screamed.

Five of them came at me, while the rest stood back and watched. I dodged the first one's wild stab, jabbing him in the chest as he passed, and not paying him any more attention, went back to the others. Knowing I couldn't avoid all of them, I keyed a command into my wrist-com, and a sword materialized in my hand. I quickly swung in a 180 degree arc, taking the legs of two more out of commission, but making sure that the injuries were non-life-threatening. The other two surrounded me, both trying to stab me. I deflected each of their attacks, but I couldn't get an attack to connect. I realized that we were all evenly matched, so I decided to wear them out until they collapsed. For five minutes, all I did was deflect their blows. They quickly fell over and were no longer a problem.

Suddenly, I heard a scream. I realized Collin was completely overwhelmed, surrounded by at least 10 people. I could see he had at least one wound on his arm, and he looked exhausted. I quickly generated another sword, and took two of Collin's assailants down with a quick cut to their upper legs. I threw the sword to Collin, which he caught and immediately used to deflect an attack that would've killed him. I quickly extended my hidden blade, which I had attached to my right arm, and quickly stabbed one of my attackers in the arm, effectively disarming him. I quickly cut down the rest of them with nonlethal injuries to their legs and arms. Once the rest of them fell, I said, exhausted, "Well, that was…exhilarating. You okay Collin?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. One of them got my arm, but it didn't hit any veins. I should be okay."

What I heard next chilled me right to the bone. A gunshot rang out across the barracks, and I ducked down, throwing Collin down as well, trying to avoid the bullet. I quickly checked myself, and not finding any wounds, checked Collin. Before I could check, I saw a growing pool of blood under him. I rolled him over and he had a bullet wound in his chest. I instantly realized the bullet had collapsed his right lung and his chest was filling.

I quickly activated a communication channel and yelled, "Marsh, Collin and I were attacked by others in our barracks. Collin's severely wounded and the others are injured!" I quickly laid my hands on Collin's chest, and focusing my mind on Collin, uninjured, released a huge burst of energy into Collin's chest. Immediately, I felt the hole in his chest closing and the blood began to recede from his chest. His breathing returned to normal, and his arm wound also healed, which I had not planned for.

I started to feel weak, but managed to open the barrack door and locked it. Right after that, I blacked out, but I heard a team examining the men I had wounded right before I fell into darkness.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I started to see a bright light shining in my eyes. I instinctively tried to block the light, but my arms felt like lead blocks. I finally snapped back to full awareness and immediately found I was restrained.

"Don't try to move, son. Your body is severely broken and further motion could break your bones apart. We've strapped you down to help you, not hinder you," I heard someone say. True enough, I felt like a pile of broken glass, whatever that feels like.

"How long have I been here?" I asked, noticing I sounded horrible.

"A week or two. We thought you were in a coma. Your responses up to today have been minimal. Also, your body seemed to be either rewriting itself or repairing every part of your being. Thankfully, you snapped out of it."

"Where's Collin? Is he okay?" I nervously asked, worried about him.

"He's fine. His injuries were healed by the time we arrived. There was nothing but a small scar where the bullet entered, but he was unconscious. He recovered in a couple days, though. You have some explaining to do, though. Lt. Col. Marsh virtually blew a fuse after he heard about what happened. He's here to discuss the events of that day."

I heard some footsteps, a muttered discussion, and then I saw Marsh move towards me. He undid my restraints, helped me sit up, and sat in a nearby chair.

"Son, what the hell happened? Your message was vague, and nothing makes sense right now. Please explain everything," he calmly inquired.

"Sir, the others attacked without a motive. I just defended myself. What did I do wrong?" I asked, a slight amount of anger and confusion leaking through.

"What you did is impossible. They are fast strikers, and attack relentlessly. Yet you dodged every one of them as if you knew the direction and speed of each attack-"

I drew a breath and, interrupting his speech, replied, "There's a reason I could dodge their attacks. I could see their moves before they made them." After I said that, I knew he was confused.

"How...how is that possible?"

"I have a rare gift. Among other things, I can see a few seconds into the future when under stress and I can heal any wound, no matter the severity. These abilities are inherent in my bloodline. Starting from Altaïr, my distant ancestor, my family has been gifted."

"What? Altaïr is an ancestor of Desmond Miles. You're not from his family." he yelled, clearly mad.

"My ancestral line is virtually identical to Desmond's, but after the Revolutionary War, our bloodlines separated. Connor had two wives. Each one started a new bloodline. My ancestry comes from Catherine, his second wife. Trace it back if you want. You'll find I speak the truth." I knew he didn't believe me, but I knew the truth.

"The Connor? The one who formed this whole division?"

"Yes." I answered.

Okay, if you have the same ancestors, why hasn't Desmond exhibited anything closely resembling your...unique powers? Your ancestors are identical," he retorted.

"Desmond's gift is recessive. Between Connor and his link to Altaïr, the gift was less frequent. My bloodline maintained a strong link to our gifts."

"So, where does this gift spawn from?"

"The First Civilization, the people who rebuilt Earth and humanity after a solar flare destroyed the Earth. They made a mistake and accidentally left these powers dominant in an early ancestor of mine. Altaïr's killing prowess came from a genetic ability, granting him unnatural speed and strength. Ezio's gift was improvisation and stealth. Connor's ability is still unknown to me, but it appears to be a rare trait. I can't pinpoint the exact source of his ability, but I believe his is linked to his unrivalled accuracy during the war." Marsh leaned in closer.

"This presents a unique advantage to us. We could use your powers to-"

"My powers are still sporadic. I haven't found out how to unlock full control or how to enhance their effects. There are certain sequences of my DNA that are affected, but I have no means of decoding them properly or even finding them." Suddenly, Marsh looked very pleased.

"Maybe you do. Your biometric readings spiked while you were unconscious. We looked at a sample of your skin, and it was rebuilding itself. We found at least 14 different genetic sequences reacting in odd ways. I can get a copy of your DNA scans if you'd like."

"Sure. Perhaps I have other gifts, hidden or locked away."

"Well, your body has fully healed. You can leave now. Tomorrow, you start training. Be ready, we don't go easy on anyone."

Finally able to stand, I responded, "Bring it on."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I decided to stay in the infirmary for the night because I didn't think I could make it to my bunk. I woke up at about 5:46 A.M., and found a standard recruit uniform laying on my nightstand. Quickly slipping into the uniform, I opened the door and walked into the hall. I finally noticed that all of the walls were the same metallic gray color, but they seemed to be more than that. I wandered the hall for about ten minutes until I found a group heading to the mess hall for breakfast. It took about five more minutes to get there, and I was really hungry. I finally got inside at about 8:00.

Entering the room, I immediately heard a familiar voice calling out to me.

"Hey, Wyatt, you're finally up! Come over here."

Quickly grabbing some food, I hurried over to the tables, which were oddly painted to appear bloodstained. Sitting down, I started to devour everything on my tray.

"You okay, Wyatt? We were worried about you for a while," Collin asked me.

Pausing between bites, I responded, "I'm fine. Just a little exhausted. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine; in fact, better than fine. When I woke up, I had no mark of the shot except a small scar. Even the cartilage I lost in my knee is back. What did you do to me? I can't remember what happened after the shot."

I thought for a moment, and decided that I would tell him later. "I'll tell you tonight. I need to collect my thoughts and find a way to explain it."

Looking a little hurt, he remarked, "Ok. Well, we've got a bust day ahead. I haven't done any training because I was too concerned with your health to even focus on working. We have to go through three simulations today. The first one is in the same place that we were tested, and it starts at 9:00."

"Got it. Give me about ten minutes to finish, and we'll get a head start on our work." Keeping my word, I was ready to leave at 8:29. We took our leave and tried to find the training room again. I accidentally brushed against the wall, and a map of the facility materialized on the screen, showing our location and the fastest route to our destination. Looking for an explanation, I looked at Collin.

"Oh yeah, the walls are interactive. They respond to your wrist-com, and display public messages when necessary. It's actually quite useful; it helped me find the infirmary when I wanted to see you."

Realizing we would be cutting our arrival close, I urged Collin to move on. We had to run the last 200 meters to make it on time. We quickly took a seat and waited for Pellham.

"Now that you're all present, we can start. This simulation will test your survival skills, ingenuity, and combat prowess. It will be the same environment, but each person has a different objective. Please choose an entrance," I heard Pellham say, but he was not in the room. I guessed there were speakers in the walls. Collin and I entered into adjacent rooms. As soon as the door closed, the room shifted down. I could hear a door opening, and realized that I was in the middle of grassland, with a city in the distance and a rudimentary shelter built nearby. I ran towards it, and diving under the cover, I found myself face-to-face with someone I didn't recognize. Quickly pinning him, I extended my blade and pressed it against his throat.

"Identify yourself quickly, or feel death's sting," I quietly demanded.

"Stand down, brother. We are allies," he responded, quickly showing his identification on his wrist-com. I let him up, and quickly looked outside.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Nick. Yours?"

"Wyatt. Check our supplies. How long can we survive?"

While he checked our supplies, I quickly scanned the terrain. I noted that a large city was about 4 miles away from our position. My map showed the city was Pittsburgh. Right then, I heard Nick's voice, and he sounded worried.

"We've got a problem. We only have about a day's worth of food and water before we run out."

"Can we get into Pittsburgh? Surely we have allies-"

"Yes, but we can't get in. Templars are surrounding every entrance."

"Templars? I thought they were destroyed after the Crusades," I asked, seriously confused at his remark.

"No, they merely faded into anonymity after the Third Crusades. They've been operating quietly all over the world, and the only people fighting against their goals of absolute world control are the Assassins. We are part of the North American Brotherhood. We have branches everywhere," he responded, sounding a little annoyed.

"Okay, mind is blown. Why are the entrances impassable?"

"The guards are checking the identities of all outsiders. We'll be killed if we try to enter."

I quickly scanned for patrols in or near the city, and noticed an anomaly.

"Um, we can get in. Look here, at the west entrance. The Templar influence there is nonexistent. There's also a good sized area near the business district that is not under their control. The Assassins must have liberated those areas for us. We can slip right in!" I explained. After he saw this, Nick seemed to light up.

"You're right. This is perfect. Send a transmission to any ally near the west entrance. We need an escort to the main operations building."

Quickly recording a message and broadcasting it on an empty radio channel, we ran for the west "gate," almost running into a Templar patrol about a mile out. Once we got there, we found a pile of dead guards and two Assassins standing near them.

"Identify yourselves," the taller of the two ordered. We quickly showed our identification, and they immediately relaxed.

"Sorry, but we have already lost three brothers to double agents. Come quickly, the streets are not safe."

We entered the city and immediately saw why the extra precautions were necessary. There were Templar men everywhere, always watching the shadows as if they could kill. We had to stick to the back roads to avoid any unnecessary fights. We quickly came to the area of the city that we controlled.

"The insurance company building here is our base. This is the only safe haven for us here. There are two rules here: Don't leave when guards are looking for us, and always show your credentials. We have to be–"

He never finished his sentence, as his head was suddenly engulfed in a spray of blood. He fell to the ground, and we both knew he was dead. Shots began to ring out everywhere, and we ran for cover, trying to stay alive. We managed to get to the Assassin stronghold, and we were immediately let in.

The building had been overhauled, with screens and communication centers everywhere. We saw a man in commander uniform approaching. We quickly saluted, and the man introduced himself.

"Good day. I am Colonel Mathers. I'm the senior officer of this base. Where is your escort?"

We both looked at each other, and Nick answered. "We were ambushed just outside your base. He was killed by a sniper, and we would've been dead if we hadn't run."

Mathers quickly gave a muffled order over his radio, and turned his back to us. "Your objective is simple: Kill this man."

"We checked our orders and they had been updated. Our target was a Templar agent known as Stephen the Butcher. According to the report, he took Assassins prisoner and was famous for carving his victims until they talked. The dead were sent back to our base, piece by piece. He was responsible for at least 10 deaths and needed to be eliminated by nightfall before he fled the city.

"Sir, he will be dead before 5 tonight," I promised. He didn't give any reaction. We quickly restocked on ammunition and cautiously left, following our indicators to his makeshift "operating room."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Nick and I quickly headed for the center of the city, where the entrance to Stephen's lair was. The streets were more dangerous than I originally thought, having almost been caught by a patrol. Nick had to pull me out of their way, ducking into an abandoned alley.

"Watch where you're going, Wyatt. We'll be found and our target will escape. We can't track him if he leaves tonight," he quickly explained. I realized he was right, and responded in kind.

"Let's try to travel across the roofs. We can avoid the ground patrols entirely."

"Sure, avoid death on the ground and take a sniper round in the head. Good plan," he snidely commented.

"Trust me; I can take care of the rooftops if you want to approach from the ground. I'll clear the snipers in your path, while you take the streets," I suggested, itching to take our target down.

"Well…fine, then. You cover the buildings and I'll clear the entrance. Stay in touch," he told me, running back into the streets. After he was out of sight, I quickly called up a set of blueprints on my wrist-com; transferring them to the mainframe; I uploaded the weapon contained within the pages to me. My bracer began to glow, being granted a new upgrade. The light quickly faded, and I ran up the nearest wall. I grabbed a platform about ten feet up, and pulled my body up on it. I then climbed the ladders, for I had found a fire escape, and was on the roof in about two minutes. I had to immediately throw a knife, because a sniper had almost seen me. As the knife hit his back, I ran up to him and thrust my blade into his back, killing him. I picked him up and threw him into the alley I had just left, hoping he wouldn't be found.

I started to jump from building to building, killing all I found on the roofs. I made my final kill about 50 meters away from our target's current location. I slowly made my way down, hearing something from Nick as I did so.

"Wyatt, stay right where you are. There's a Templar guard right below your position," he said. I looked down, and saw he had heavy armor on him. Seeing a way to my target, I quickly jumped down, landing on him and knocking his breath away. I got up, dragged him deeper into the alley I was in, and hauled him up.

Quickly triggering a hidden mechanism on the inside of my wrist, deploying three curved blades, I rotated and stabbed them into his back.

"No escape, Templar. How many wait for us in his base?" I asked, wishing he would fight back. He certainly fought. He knocked my legs out from under me and grabbed his axe. I quickly shoved myself up, set my blades to their original position, and unsheathed my hidden blade, leaving my other ones out. He immediately tried to split my skull, but I dodged it, cutting his throat with my scythe blades as I moved. He died thirty seconds later, leaving blood everywhere, but not before I got a rough estimate of guards.

"There…are…two hundred…Please…spare me…" I moved away from the alley, finding Nick waiting for me a few feet away, looking very angry.

"Um, what happened to stealth, kills quietly, and don't leave evidence? I could hear that fight all the way over here," he quietly commented, trying to make me rethink my actions.

"Don't worry; I put his body in a Dumpster on the way out. They won't know—"

"They won't find out!? When he doesn't check in, we're compromised! You could have blown this whole- where are you going now?" he asked, but I paid no attention, slipping into the front door of the Templar base.

"After you, my friend," I quickly radioed out to him. I quickly ducked into the shadows and watched his arrival. Once he made it past the guards, we both moved along the walls, careful not to disturb anything while we moved. I almost fell into a pile of bullet casings, but Nick pulled me back just in time.

"Watch it, Smith. No need to alert the guards…yet," he reminded me. The base was much bigger belowground, and the maps we had were incomplete. Despite these obstacles, we located the torture chamber, and heard a scream of pain that echoed down the halls.

"Come now, my son. There is no need to continue this resistance. Just tell me where your brothers are holed up and you will be allowed to leave without further pain," we heard a rough but surprisingly kind voice comment. I knew it was Stephen. I never expected a Templar could actually sound nice when ripping humans apart.

"Never…will I give you a damn thing. Your methods of extraction are useless. The Assassins have much better forms of interrogation than your pathetic mutilation," another voice spat out. Clearly, he wasn't afraid of this man. I signaled Nick, who quietly opened the door. I slipped in and stuck to the shadows, which were many in the room. I made my way towards Stephen, making sure I didn't make a sound. He was about 6 feet tall, wearing a bloody apron and holding a vicious-looking surgical tool in his hand.

"Your time is coming, Templar dog. Soon, you will meet your god, and I sincerely hope he sends you to hell," the Assassin said, and I knew he had seen me. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to care about his injuries, and even seemed to be enjoying the frustration from his executioner.

"You will meet your god before I meet mine, Assassin. Die, you devil! Die!" Stephen roared, stabbing a nasty looking dagger into the Assassin's chest. He coughed a few times, and then stopped moving. I knew he had died, and something snapped in me. Ignoring my common sense, I ran to him, slamming him into the table where my comrade was still strapped down.

"Your time has come, Stephen! You were too arrogant to stop us! You will feel the pain of every man and woman you have killed!" I screamed, the noise echoing off the walls. I quickly extended my scythe blades, pulled my dagger off my belt, and ran the dagger into Stephen's stomach. He fell on his knees, holding his gut, but I didn't give him a chance to speak, quickly swinging my right arm down, impaling his chest and neck with the top two scythes.

"Better to find peace in the next life than to cause misery in this one. Rest in peace," I muttered, closing his eyes. I retrieved my dagger, but as I put it back on my belt, I watched the simulation dissolve around me.

As my sight cleared, I found about two hours had passed and I was now in the center of the city. When I checked my weapons inventory, I heard a short, metallic noise, indicating I had a new message from an ally.

"Smith, come quickly! Our cover team was ambushed! We can't fight much longer," was the message left for me. I found their position, and ran towards them, making sure my blades were still there.

I made record time to their position, and realized the full extent of their dilemma. They were severely outnumbered, fighting against over a hundred Templars. Pulling out several knives, I threw them at the snipers on the rooftops, eliminating the threat from above. Picking a soldier, I jumped off of the building I was standing on, and landed on my target, stabbing him in the neck as I landed. I ran through the massive crowd of guards, killing any who tried to stop me. After leaving 20 dead, a huge wall of guards blocked my way. I retracted my hidden blade and released my scythe blades. As each guard ran towards me, I caught him on the back and quickly cut their throats, throwing them out of my way. The last four tried to cut my arms, but none could reach me in time. Leaving the frontlines decimated, I ran behind a wall made of metal debris, taking the heads off of two guards as I did so. I quickly stripped the uniform of one and donned it, perfectly blending in. I walked unchallenged through the makeshift fortress. I realized that they could fight for weeks without slowing. After wandering for a minute, I saw the golden banners of the Templar captain.

"Halt. What business do you have with the captain?" a guard asked me.

"I need to give him a status update. He gave me orders to give him occasional observations," I responded, making sure to keep my voice steady.

"Very well, enter."

The building was very large, with guards everywhere. I walked through, resisting the urge to end them. I was directed to the offices of the commanders by a highly muscled, lean man. Finding the door immediately, I opened it, and recognized the same face as my original target. I guessed they were brothers.

"Good day, soldier. How goes the fight?" he asked, using the same tone as Stephen. I decided he was just as ruthless as his brother.

"The fight has turned. A new Assassin showed up, murdering dozens of our own in mere minutes. None of his targets live. I fear the Assassins will win. Perhaps we should consider surrender," I remarked, hoping he would accept the suggestion.

"Never! Tell the front line to push forward and slaughter those dogs!" he shouted out, clearly determined to murder everyone.

"Sir, if I may, I can't tell them to move up."

"Why is that?" he inquired, appearing confused about my choice of words.

"Because, you worthless Templar, this day goes to the Assassins!" I responded, tossing a chair at him. He moved to the right, just as I expected. I intercepted him as the window behind us exploded, sending glass spraying everywhere.

"Why, Assassin? Why must we fight each other with little care for the lives we prematurely cut down?" he asked.

"I wish I knew, but your death is necessary. You must die for the safety of every citizen in this city. Rest in peace," I answered, quickly running my right hidden blade into his abdomen, watching him fall. As he hit the ground, the office and city dissolved, leaving me in a huge room. I figured the walls projected a simulated reality, but I couldn't elaborate, as I was surrounded by a transport tube and shot up to the training room.

The trip only took ten seconds, and as I exited, I noticed everyone else already sitting and glaring at me with contempt. Pellham and Marsh were there, just looking at me.

"Private Smith, can you explain what happened?" Marsh asked. "What was that you did to Stephen?"

"Sir, with all respect, I apologize for my actions. He needed to die, but the butchering of our brother just…angered me to the point of—"

"Son, what are you apologizing for? What were those blades you had on your bracer?" he asked. I could tell he was interested in my designs.

"I call them scythe blades. They're still experimental, but the curve pins the blade in your opponent, immobilizing them. It would work very well if targets are prone to running," I responded, astonished at his interest in my weapon.

"Smith, that upgrade is perfect. This new upgrade—"

"Excuse me, but his actions have corrupted that simulation. I have to rewrite 80% of the programming. Not to mention that he lost all control when he slaughtered the target. He should go through an emotional control exercise," Pellham interrupted, putting hate in every word.

"You're insane. His actions may not have been the best, but he did the task as necessary, showing innovation beyond any I've ever seen. You can all leave now," Marsh stated. I guessed he was going to "speak" to our resident techie.


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the delay, but school and my personal life have been kicking my ass. I'll try to get an update every two weeks or so from now on. Just to be clear, I don't own **_**Assassin's Creed**_**, but I do own my characters.**

Chapter 9

After leaving our superiors alone, Collin and I started walking to our next "class." From what my schedule says, we get to learn how to properly use different weapons against certain enemies. Awesome, right?

"Well, that was fun. Finally got to see Pittsburgh. That's one less entry on my bucket list," I remarked, trying to stay cheerful. When Collin didn't respond, I was slightly worried. "Hey, you alright?"

"No, I'm not. Do you realize I caused the firefight right at the end? I shot at a huge mass of Templars. I thought we could take them, but look how that turned out. Almost cost us the entire team. Why do I constantly screw up?" he sighed. I thought I could get his mood to brighten a little.

"Hey, you think you got problems? I've got bigger ones than you do. My DNA is unstable- oh, crap," I blurted out. Good one, brain. Had to go straight to the faulty genetics, didn't ya?

"What? Where did that come from?" he asked, sounding very intrigued by my comment. I then told him the story of my ancestors and their unique abilities. By the end, he seemed very interested, asking, "If your ancestors had special skills, why don't you have any?"

"I do, mine are just different. I can make any technology work, no matter how complex; I can see things before they happen, and I have been known to scare even the most cautious people. How's that?"

"Nice. Oh, we're here," he quickly answered. The door was already open, and I could see a huge gym, full of training dummies and a large amount of weaponry. As we walked in, a man ran in front of us.

"Oh, hello. Hurry and get down there, we're about to start," he rambled, showing us a door. Once I opened it, I heard a great deal of metal striking wood and other objects. There were weapons of all sizes and shapes. Running down the stairs, Collin headed for the firearms with a bright glimmer in his eyes. Seems like he forgot why he was depressed. I saw a row of bracers, similar to mine, and walked over to them, inspecting a nice metal brace.

"Hey, who are you? I don't remember seeing you before," I heard from behind me. As I turned, I saw a huge brute of a man, normal height, but very muscular. It looked like his muscles had muscles, if that's even possible.

"I _am_ new here, thanks for asking. I'm Wyatt. And, you are...?" I asked, seriously drawing out my question.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Tony. One of the best swordsman here. Not trying to brag or anything. You trying out some blades?"

"Yeah. Can we just take these? I wouldn't want to intrude on anyone's stuff," I asked. It wouldn't be very good if I pissed anyone off now.

"Sure, go ahead. Try them out, find one you like," he told me, walking back to an armored figure. He bent down, grabbed a huge sword, and started to attack the armor, denting it with every blow. I picked up the bracer I was checking out and swapped it out for the one I was wearing.

Once the straps were secure, I flicked my wrist to extend the blade. Instead of a regular blade, a hook sprang out. It did have a point on it, but it still looked lethal. Feeling a sudden urge, I ran for Tony, dodging his weapon, and stabbed his target in the "throat," whipping it down to the ground and snapping its neck. Tony just looked at me, clearly amazed by my agility and kill.

"Holy crap! What was that?" he yelled. "That move is virtually impossible to execute, and you did it with ease. You got moves, bro. Hey, your bracer is ruined." Looking down at my arm, I saw the bracer on the ground. I had ripped the straps apart when I got up, forgetting to pull the blade from the dummy's body.

"Don't worry. The techies can repair that easily. It's no problem..." All of a sudden, alarms started going off. Everyone was scrambling for the door, trying to be the first one out. I shoved two smaller guys out of my way to grab my hidden blade and a new left arm bracer from the table, not pausing to check what I grabbed.

"Hey Tony, what the heck is going on?" I asked, trying to hide the excitement I felt.

"Our spies managed to locate a Templar. Everyone has to go to the briefing room to see who ends up getting to kill the bastard. Come on, now," he answered. He then turned and ran out the door with me close behind him.

We made record time, running through huge crowds and shoving others out of our way. I couldn't see the doors as we ran past them. Thankfully, there were arrows pointing towards our destination, so we made record time. When we got there, the room was half full, and I noticed Collin close to the front of the crowd. Weaving through a mass of people, I finally got to him.

"Well, this should be fun. Wonder who's gonna leave this time," I remarked, silently praying that we got to go. It took three more minutes for everyone to assemble. The door closed automatically, and Marsh appeared from nowhere, a grim look on his face.

"As you all know, we have found a Templar agent. His name is Rodrigo Athena, the leader of a massive cell in Paris. While many of you are more than capable of taking him down, I have chosen Wyatt Smith and Collin Gardner for this mission. While some might be questioning my sanity, I have hope that they can perform with lethal efficiency. Both of you, do not underestimate this man. He is a cunning warrior, with experience covering two decades of training. He will put up a fight, but you should have no trouble ending his life. Now, go. You have a long journey ahead of you, Assassins," he explained, putting his immeasurable authority into every word. We both saluted in respect and left, heading for the weapons deposit to stock up.

"Wow. Not even a month into our new life, and we get to assassinate a Templar leader. How the hell does that happen?" Collin ranted. I wasn't paying much attention, though. I was trying to figure out why we were given the orders. Pushing the thought away, I realized we were already at the weapons depot. Shoving the old, rusted door open, what I saw was unbelievable.

There were hundreds of swords, daggers, assault rifles, pistols, and light machine guns everywhere. Any weapon you could want was probably in there. Collin immediately headed for the guns, while I grabbed a dagger with an elegant grip and a long, wide blade perfect for ripping through armor and flesh; a sword with an enclosed golden hilt and a long, curved blade; and a short-barreled USP .45 pistol.

Once I put my weapons into their respective sheaths, I walked further into the room, and found racks full of armor. Thinking of our target's skill, I took a metal chest guard and internally armored boots, trying to avoid the more conspicuous shoulder guards. Once I slipped all of them on, I found Collin taking an M4A1 assault rifle, several fragmentation grenades, a pistol I didn't recognize, and ammunition for his firearms.

"Ready?" I asked, slightly suspecting he wasn't.

"Not yet. I just need some armor," he answered. "Can you get some for me?"

"Yeah, just give me a sec." Finding armor for him was easy. I grabbed the same three pieces I had taken and tossed them to him. Wasting no time, he put the armor on and holstered his pistol.

"Alright, let's go," he suggested. Silently agreeing, we headed out, making sure the door was closed. We made our way up, passing some of the others on the way. Opening the bunker doors, we walked out onto the landing pad, where a Blackhawk chopper was waiting for us.

"Good to see you two," the pilot said. "Hurry up, you have a plane to catch from JFK International." We did as he asked, and he increased the speed of the rotors, gaining lift and headed towards the airport. Nothing much happened after that. Security was no problem, our plane was on time, and the flight was uneventful. When we landed in Paris, we were both well-rested, armed to the teeth, and itching to kill a Templar.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The airport was so crowded, we could barely walk three feet before stopping again. On top of that, we couldn't understand anything being said by the people surrounding us. I could barely hear myself think over all the random discussions around me. Good God, how can people travel like this?

Just getting through security was insane. It took an hour for the two of us to finally clear Customs and leave the airport. I'm not sure how our weapons weren't detected, but I consider that a miracle. Walking through an electric door, I smelled the air of Paris for the first time. Seriously, what a rip-off. The air was laden with chemical stenches that made me appreciate the pollution of New York and San Francisco. How can anyone survive in this city without growing a third eye or glowing in the dark? Not to mention the horrible view I had. Yeah, yeah, there was a lot more to see, but the sights I saw at that time were crap.

"Well, not much to see here," Collin sighed. "I thought Paris would look a lot better than this."

"Yeah, but Paris is huge. Maybe we'll have time to see it all." Right as I said that, I heard a quiet buzzing originating somewhere around my arm. Goddamnit, why did they have to ruin my day before it even started? I sighed and opened the wrist-com interface and shuffled around for a couple seconds before I managed to find our official orders.

"Smith and Gardner: Your objective has been modified. Our spies have told us an important Templar meeting is to be held tonight under the Louvre. We need you to get inside by any means necessary, find the leaders, and kill as many as you can without endangering innocents. You must escape at all costs, as we don't want to risk exposure to the Templars. Follow these orders to the letter or you will suffer the consequences of failure. ~Marsh."

"Collin, we have new orders. Turns out Rodrigo will be attending a meeting at the Louvre," I explained, trying to hide the fear I felt. "We get to make a 'suicide run' at the higher-ups tonight. By the way, selective kills. Only kill what you can get away with." Another vibration, and another message to read.

"Sorry, almost forgot. You have been assigned call-signs for the mission. Perform well, and they are yours forevers. Smith, you are Blade-runner. Gardner is Garuda. Marsh out." It's about time.

"Collin, we're official now. We have call-signs now. You're Garuda, and I'm Blade-runner. Nice, right?"

"Hell yeah! Now let's get moving," he answered, barely containing his enthusiasm.

I simply nodded and signaled him to enable his communicator as I did the same. Our comms thankfully worked, so we calmly walked away, wandering the streets with our hoods up. Perfect for blending, as it wasn't too warm and it was quite sunny, except for the peak in the shape of an eagle's beak. The streets were also quite noisy and overrun with cars, so the clattering of our weapons was masked. It was only 8 am local time, and we had ten hours until the meeting was slated to start.

We tried to hail a cab for twenty minutes with no success. That just proves how crowded this city truly is. Finally, a newer-looking cab dropped off a young-looking couple right next to us and we piled into the back as fast as humanly possible.

"Can you get us to the Eiffel Tower as fast as possible?" I asked, hoping he spoke English.

"Yes. Ten euros for one-way trip." Of course, I dug out thirteen euros and gave them to him, telling him the extra three were a tip. Appearing satisfied, he pulled out into the mad traffic rush. When I leaned back to relax for a minute, Collin was looking at me like he had seen a ghost.

"What's up, man? You feeling alright?" I nonchalantly asked, thinking he was getting carsick.

"You just spoke French. You talked to the driver in French. Why didn't you tell me?" he retorted. His face was a mask of confusion. Now, I was very confused. How the hell did I speak a foreign language? I only know English!

"What are you talking about? I spoke English. In fact, so did our driver. You must have heard something." That's the only explanation, right? Right?

I looked towards the driver and asked him, "Excuse me, sir, but what languages do you speak?"

Without looking back, he said, "I only speak French, sir. I don't know much English." I fell back into the seat, all but shutting down after hearing that. My God, what the (insert favorite expletive here) was going on? That's impossible! I couldn't speak a foreign language without learning it first, could I?

"Collin, I'm going to give you a PDA. When I start speaking French again, I need you to record any abnormal activity," I instructed. "Don't ask questions, just do as I say." I turned back to the driver. "What can you tell me about the Louvre? I've heard so much about it, but I'd like to hear it from someone who actually understands it."

"The Louvre is a huge art museum. She houses many paintings and sculptures from well-known artists, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. If you plan to visit, however, you must go before 4pm. A private party will be taking the whole building after then," he lilted.

"Thank you for the information," I told him, sitting back again. "Collin, give me the PDA." He obeyed right away, his hand shaking slightly, which I ignored. Turning the display on, I observed the activity recorded. Three separate clusters had activated during my conversation, which in turn had activated a dormant portion of my brain, feeding linguistic info to it, temporarily translating my English into French! Collin was right. This was new...

"Well, that's...nice. Seems the First Civilization has more in store for me yet," I ranted, not caring if our driver heard or understood. Suddenly, the car lurched to the left, which I found strange. According to the map I had, we should have been going east, not west. I was quickly apprehensive of our chauffeur.

"Excuse me, but shouldn't we be headed east? You're taking us away from the tower." I wasn't surprised at all when he said nothing. I quietly activated the communicator and silenced the mike. I didn't want to be overheard. "Garuda, I think we've been had. Our driver seems to be an undercover Templar. Once he stops, exit slowly, extract him any way you can, and restrain him. I'm going to interrogate his sorry ass and kill him once we know what he knows." A silent nod from my comrade, and the plan was set.

Our trip took us to the outskirts of the city. My watch told us we were running out of time. It was already 9, and we had little time to waste. Thankfully, I heard the brakes finally screech, signaling that we were stopping. Collin opened the door and stepped out, carefully observing the area. Apparently he didn't see anything. He walked around to the driver's side and casually opened the door. Collin balled his right hand and delivered a crushing left hook to the other man's chin, whipping his head into the headrest. I couldn't see very well, so I swiftly ripped my door open and jumped onto the car, sliding across the hood and checking for vitals. Yeah, I know a bit about medical procedures.

I put my fingers on his jugular vein, and feeling a pulse, pulled him out. As I did so, a short knife slid out of his hand. Looks like I was right. "Collin, find some rope and tie him up. I need this bastard restrained if I'm gonna get some intel from him," I yelled out, slamming his head to the ground. I heard a soft moan escape the man's lips. Perfect, something's broken. I finally got a good look at our driver. He had lightly tanned skin, with a lean frame and a well-toned body. Definitely fits the Templar training regimen. His eyes were a piercing blue, seemed to see through you. Collin had to rummage around for three minutes before finding some cords. We knotted them together and wrapped the man's arms and legs together. He moved a little, and slowly came to.

Spitting out the pooling blood, he managed to roll into a sitting position. "You fools. Our plan worked perfectly. Did you really think a couple of Assassins could get through an airport without being noticed? How stupid do you have to be to-" he spat out. I cut him off with a quick blow to his stomach. He curled up, trying to avoid further pain.

"Look, Templar, I have no patience. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions. You will answer them, or we will rip you apart. Now, who put you up to this ambush?" I hissed, itching to ruin his complexion, which was average at best.

"Foolish boy. Why would I answer any of your questions? You might have overpowered me, but I have allies everywhere. One wrong move, and you both die," he retorted, pausing every few seconds to breathe. You know, one of us might have broken a rib.

"Well, then, you better listen and talk. Who. Sent. You."

"Rodrigo himself. He knew he was too exposed, so he sent me to take care of you two. He even gave me 60 of our elite agents to assist me in the ambush. I only wish it could have been me to kill you," he rambled. He seemed far too content with his position.

"Garuda, take a position behind the taxi and keep watching every path in and out. We may have company soon," I told him. He pulled out his assault rifle and started looking for any signs of movement. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, how do we get into the meeting? Tell me now, and I might consider sparing your life."

"Do you think me a fool? I know I'm dead anyways. You're all the same. You promise to spare us, but then we end up bleeding all over the ground, throats cut," he spat out. Then he seemed to relax a bit. "I suppose there's nothing left now. Here's what I know. There will be mounted patrols all around the perimeter of the museum. 120 men and women total. Should you get past them, the door guards have machine guns and body armor. Pure Kevlar, stops any projectile from injuring the men. Guards with sidearms in the halls and a security system guarding the meeting room. Neither of you can get through alive."

"We'll see about that, scum. Now you have a choice. I'm going to untie you now. If you leave, we will not follow. You attack, and we kill you. But, it's your choice," I told him, undoing the cord. He immediately sprang up and ran for the taxi. I watched him grab something from the seat, and he slowly came back to us. He appeared emotionless...not good.

"Thank you for giving me the chance to redeem myself...however, I made my choice long ago," he mused. I saw a glint by his left hand, and I realized what he was going to do. I hopped backwards just as he swung his knife, missing it by mere inches. I pulled out a throwing knife and tossed it at the man, hitting him directly in the throat and creating a fountain of blood. He started to choke on his own blood and fell onto the ground.

"I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I cannot save you, but I can make your death painless. Rest in peace," I told him, walking over to him. Extending the hidden blade on my right arm with a quick flick of the wrist, I ran my blade into the man's chest, puncturing his heart and ending his life. A smaller flow of blood leaked out from the new wound, but it was not as strong as the first strike. After withdrawing the blade, I walked back over to Collin, which turned out to be a mistake.

Just before I made it to the taxi, the ground began to explode. I could hear bullets cutting the air around my entire body. I pulled a ring out of my pocket and placed it on my right ring finger. The bullets started changing direction when they reached me. I dived for the car, trying to protect Collin. Pulling myself out of the dirt, I checked Collin over. Thank God, no bullet holes or blood.

"What the hell's going on!?" I yelled out, trying to determine the origin of the shots.

"No clue! I didn't see anything approach from the road," he shouted back. "How could they have gotten past me?" Suddenly, I saw what had happened.

"They didn't get past you. They moved in from the forest, waiting for a signal. The driver's death must have provoked them! Ah, how could I have not seen this?" I explained, barely containing the rage I felt at falling for a dumb trick. How could I have not seen them moving around?

"Not to seem ungrateful, but how haven't we been shot yet?" he inquired. "At least 100 bullets should have hit us, but we're both unscathed!" Damn, he noticed. Perfect, now I have to explain that, too.

"It's this ring I have," I said. "It's an artifact, called a Shard of Eden, my father gave to me last year. It creates some kind of barrier, deflecting any kind of metal within the field. I don't understand why, but it only works with projectiles from a distance. It's useless at close range. Seems they've realized that." Sure enough, Templars were streaming out of the woods, carrying a various assortment of weapons. One threw a small metal ball at us. "Garuda, look out!" I yelled when I recognized the device. When he stopped, I shoved him out of the way and grabbed the grenade simultaneously. I lobbed it back at the bastard, and it detonated right in front of his face, ripping his body apart in a matter of milliseconds. I saw two others get hit with shrapnel and go down. The others, realizing my skill, tossed their guns away, pulling out a vast array of swords and daggers. I extended my left blade and pulled out my sword.

"Garuda, lock and load! Kill them all!" I yelled out, rushing the Templars head-on. That clearly surprised them, as I managed to slice the necks of five men before they realized I was there. The dirt at our feet quickly turned dark red from the geysers of blood erupting from the dead. One lashed out with a medium length sword, but I moved to the left, missing the cutting edge and ramming my sword into the gut of another, leaving him spasming on the ground. I then turned back and realized we were both surrounded. As I slashed the throat of another attacker, I saw Collin fighting off a smaller group of agile fighters. I knew he could handle himself for a bit, and danced out of the way of a mace that almost crushed my skull.

I took out the eyes of one who tried to slice my leg off and gave another a decapitation, courtesy of my saber. One almost ended up hitting my exposed side, but I ended that chance, first slicing his arm off and then snapping his neck. I heard one coming from behind and thrust my weapon over my shoulder, hitting the assailant right between the eyes. He fell over, and I picked him up, using him as a temporary meat-shield. Pulling out ten more knives, I tossed each one within seven seconds. Each of them hit and killed someone. I finally saw there were only about 20 left around me. I knew this wouldn't take long.

Tossing the dead Templar I had to the right, surprising three of the living assailants, I stabbed yet another man under the chin with my saber, but this time, I shoved the rest of it up through his skull, lifting him off the ground and forcing the sword out of his scalp. A faster fighter came at me with a dagger before I could rip the sword out. I slashed his throat as he got close, creating a gash that immediately pumped blood everywhere. I managed to get the sword out right as a mace swung into my field of vision. I jumped right, avoiding death yet again.

Right as an axe swung at me, I deflected it away, jamming my weapon into his face. I then twisted the Templar's head to the left, then violently wrenched the saber to the right, forcing his head to face behind him, shredding his spinal cord. He stumbled around, and I pulled the sword out as he fell to the ground. The others, realizing the inevitability of their deaths, tossed their weapons away and ran, begging to be spared.

As I cleaned my sword, I heard a scream I recognized as belonging to my friend. I looked over and saw he had fallen, still parrying and killing. As I sprinted over to him, something swiped at me from a nearby tree, breaking my left leg and dropping me to the ground. I screamed in pain as my leg gave out, and I hit the dirt, trying to prevent further damage to my leg. A Templar walked out from behind the tree, holding a long, razor-sharp sword in his hands. He walked over to me, laughing in the joy of being able to kill the man responsible for the brutal slaughter of his comrades. He raised the blade up, ready to pierce my heart and lungs with it. As he swung down, I saw a bright flash off to my right side. I felt a sharp, burning pain and blacked out, certain death was coming for me.


	12. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the delay, but I decided not to write over my holiday break. I meant to have this posted by Dec. 21, but that didn't happen. There was just too much I needed to include before finishing. With my mind, new ideas are common and hard to sort out. So, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy, and please review. Suggestions and comments are always welcome. (Still don't own Assassin's Creed, but all characters and some weapons are completely mine.)**

Chapter 11

"Wyatt! Wyatt! Get up! Come on, stay with me. Don't you dare die on me! Don't you dare!" I heard. It sounded like someone talking underwater. I started to see someone, hovering just outside of my sight. I began to feel my arms, and they felt like lead weights. My one leg still hurt, but it still worked. Thank God for that. All of a sudden, my world flooded with light and I returned to the realm of the living.

I shot up, inhaling the sweet life that is air. Wow, did it feel great! I quickly did a check of my limbs. Arms, two, both work. Legs, both still there, one broken, probably a fractured femur. Well, everything appears to be in place. A sharp pain shot through my chest and I fell back, grabbing my chest. It was then that I realized something: I had a massive hole in my chest!

"Dude, stay down. That Templar punctured your lung. Consider yourself lucky that you managed to repair that, or I'd be returning a corpse. You're still healing, so don't overdo it," Collin ordered. I had no plans to do anything but that.

"Where's the bastard that did this to me?" I wheezed. My lung still felt horrible. "Where is he, so I can rip his head off?"

"He's dead. Right as he impaled you, I shot him in the head. If this one idiot had just died a little faster, I could have spared you the pain. Sorry about that."

"It's fine," I muttered. "I'm just glad he's not a problem anymore. Wait, what time is it?"

"Noon. It doesn't matter, though. I don't think we can make it in time. The ignition in the car has been ripped apart. We have to walk..." he started to say, but I shushed him with a quick motion.

"Help me up. I can start the car. I can get it fixed in no time," I growled. I started to roll onto my knees, but Collin held me down. I could see the determination in his eyes.

"Listen to me. You can't get up. Your body is still realigning the broken bones. You move, you screw your knee up permanently."

"Help me over, then. You do the work, I tell you what to do. We could be done by 12:30 and have time to make the rendezvous. _Comprende?_" I muttered back. He looked at me with a puzzled expression. Damn, language is still going to be an issue. "Sorry. Can't help the occasional word of French. It meant 'understand'."

"Fine, then," he agreed, helping me sit up and get onto my good leg. He supported a good part of my weight for the short trip. I almost fell onto my shattered knee, but Collin managed to catch me just in time. He set me down by the driver side. "Now what?"

"Remove the covering around the steering wheel. It won't really matter." He proceeded to rip it off in giant chunks, paying no attention to the damage he was causing. "Now, get me inside, so I can see the wiring." He carefully got me standing again and helped me fold my beaten and wounded body into the seat. My God, I could see wires everywhere. An ordinary person would be completely baffled by the mess. Thankfully, my gift with machinery kicked in, and I saw the solution.

"Alright. First, remove the blue, green, and yellow wires that connect to the red terminal below the steering column. That should bypass the ignition lock." Collin managed to remove the wires perfectly, tearing the filaments off perfectly. As he tore away the last one, I saw a glint off the bottom of the shaft.

I reached over and pulled it off, ignoring the protests of my friend. It was a small device, about the size of a grape, and roughly elliptical in shape. It was forged from one solid piece of aluminum and looked new. I could faintly hear some kind of static from the thing. Well, no point in revealing my other secret. I scanned the device, checking for anything explosive. The scan took three seconds, and I had all the intel I needed on the item. It was a GPS tracker and nothing more. I entered a short code into the program and looked at the results. Taking a loose piece of metal from the shattered knife of a Templar, I impaled the tracker. A small shower of sparks erupted from the new hole, and the static died away.

"Tracker. Before I destroyed it, I sent a quick pulse through it to find out where it was transmitting to. We're going to be screwed in about 15 minutes. Huge battalion of soldiers. At least 300 total. Couple of point-men about 10 minutes away."

Collin went from cheerful to afraid in no time flat. "Shit, how are we going to get by them? This car won't move until we can finish-"

"I have an idea. Get rid of the bodies and hide in the trees. Once the front-runners get here, they'll only find me. Kill them, remove the armor, and dispose of them, too. We can slip right by, undetected. I'll work on the wiring so we can drive out of here. Go! We have no time to waste!" He immediately grabbed three bodies and hurled them into the canyon. Slipping off my right bracer, I deactivated the camouflage on my arm. Yeah, that's right. My right arm is mechanical. I'll explain later.

Removing the screwdriver from the glove compartment, I moved myself over so I could work. Deactivating the limit on my wrist flexion, I removed a panel from the steering column. My prize was right in front of me, in the form of the taxi's computer. No point in hot-wiring the ignition when you can bypass the "brain" of the vehicle. _Shit, how am I going to override the computer if I can't get at the hard drive? _I thought. Yeah, the manufacturers put that somewhere else. Then it hit me. If I could get a virus into the computer, I could corrupt and deactivate it. Luckily, I know how to create computer viruses.

Two minutes later, I had the virus worming its way through the computer, destroying the essential programs. I glanced over my shoulder to check on Collin. He had most of the bodies gone already, and had only ten more before he was done. I turned back to the console and grabbed two loose wires hanging from the mess that was the steering column. I placed the exposed ends together, and the engine sputtered twice before turning over and revving to a roar. I keyed the communicator on, switching to an encrypted channel. "Collin, I'm finished. Hurry up with the corpses and get out of sight!" Through the rearview mirror, I watched him chuck the last body over the edge of the ravine and run for the trees. Just in time, too.

Two men appeared on the road. They were glancing everywhere, probably looking for us. I tried to stay down and appear injured. I assume they heard the engine's purr, because they walked over to the car. They looked quite apprehensive as they approached. They walked over to where I was sitting. Perfect shot for Collin.

"Brother, thank the heavens you're... Who the hell are you?" one of them asked.

"The driver...he called us Assassins...attacked us...my friend was killed... Who was he? What did we do?" I begged, putting true emotion into every word.

"Damn. That idiot killed innocents. Wait, how did you survive?"

"I ran for the car...hoping for safety. Someone broke my leg, but I made it here. Is it safe?" As I rambled on, I gave Collin the signal. The scout on the left looked up at the sky and had his face ripped apart by a .45 cal. bullet. As his companion looked on in disbelief, I shoved off the seat, knocking the big man over and pinning him to the ground.

"What the hell? Release me!"

"Sorry, no can do. See, we have an appointment we really can't miss. A man named Rodrigo Athena is slated to meet his end tonight, so we really have to be on our way." As he stared at me, I extended my blade with a soft _snickt_ and brought my arm down, slicing his jugular as I stabbed his neck. A wet gurgle escaped his lips before he started coughing up blood. I quickly jumped up, trying to avoid the spray of blood. Collin emerged from his hiding spot, covered in leaves but still alive. After their breathing ceased, we stripped the uniforms from the men and dumped them into the canyon with the others. Through some stroke of luck, the uniforms fit us perfectly.

"Get in," I ordered. He hopped into the passenger seat, just as I expected. I got in, shifted into drive, and pulled away from the clearing. Just as a parting gift, I left one body there, with five pounds of C4 on the body, set to detonate when anything moved near it. We went 100 yards before I saw a side road that seemed to lead to the city. I slammed the brakes and turned the wheel, wrenching the car 90 degrees around. I punched the accelerator and shot across the path. After a couple minutes, the road connected with a highway, which I shot onto, narrowly missing three other vehicles. The rest of the drive was quite uneventful.

It took nearly an hour, but we finally arrived at the tower. This was where we split up. We removed the Templar armor and tossed it into a nearby garbage disposal.

"Alright, I'm going to go up the tower. I need to find the museum and a place to enter," I explained, also making sure he stayed near the car. I had to sprint so I could catch the elevator. I managed to hitch a ride with a tour group, so I blended in perfectly. The ride took about two minutes, at which point we were let out at the final observation platform. I could just barely see the pyramid on top of the Louvre. As I watched, I saw some activity near the entrance. Shit, the guards were already starting to watch the entrances. I knew we had to move fast, or we wouldn't make it.

"Garuda, they're already assembling near the entrances. We need to move now. I'm coming down now."

"How? You're hundreds of feet up. You can't just jump down!" his voice crackled out. He sounded afraid.

"Whoever said anything about jumping? I'm going to hack the elevator and speed this up," I told him, already inside. Despite the technological advances, it took me three seconds to override the controls. Hitting the ground level button, I grabbed the handrails just as the brake released. The box accelerated to 10 mph in a matter of seconds, slowing down after five seconds. The doors slid open and I walked out, acting like nothing happened. I sprinted over to the taxi and jumped in.

"What the hell is going on?" Collin asked me. He clearly didn't get it.

"The Templars are already there. We can't both get in. You need to go, alone. Head along the main road to the west. Follow it until you find this sign," I ordered, giving him a photo. "Turn here. Get in and head to the top level. When I give you the signal, you need to open the closest window and move back. Can you do that for me?"

"Wha...never mind. Yep, I can get that done. Keep your comms open." he said. I got out and headed for a bench, trying to avoid being noticed. Collin moved to the driver's side and sped off, leaving a trail of rubber on the pavement. I moved back to the tower and positioned myself by one of the legs. Once the area was clear, I grabbed a beam and pulled myself up. I moved up the legs, constantly moving to avoid tourists. Once I was up to the main section of the tower, I moved to the inside and started climbing again. Climbing the tower was a lot safer, but much slower. Ten minutes later, I was at the top of the tower, and I mean the very top, not the observation deck. I keyed the comm link on and sent the signal: "Open the hatch and move." Hoping he was already there, I jumped off the tower and opened my arms, allowing the fabric "wings" to catch the wind and lift me up. After gaining altitude, I angled down and headed for the museum, using buildings for cover. As I approached the building, I saw about 20 people with assault rifles on the ground.

Suddenly, I heard a shout from below me. I looked down and saw every guard pointing their rifles at me. "Fuck!" I exclaimed, quickly pitching right and triggering a small afterburner, accelerating my ass away. That didn't stop them from firing. Bullets kept buzzing past me, miraculously missing me and the suit. I was forced to land behind an insurance company, about half a mile from my rendezvous point.

"Garuda, what the hell was that!? You were supposed to clear any threats so I could shoot in!" I roared. As you can guess, I was very pissed.

"Look, how was I supposed to know they were there? Blade-runner, it was one little mistake...oh fuck. Bring it on, you-" The radio just stopped transmitting. What the hell was going on?

"Garuda. Garuda! What the hell's going on?" I questioned. He came on right away.

"I was spotted! The whole place is in lockdown, and no one is leaving until they find me. I can't stay here! Get your fucking ass in here now- come on, is that the best you got!?" he spat out. "Oh, come on! You pathetic piece of-" I got this really bad feeling. We blew it. They knew that we were going to be there before we even did.

"Listen, if you're still hearing this, just surrender. I'll be there soon!" I radioed before deciding to close the link to avoid detection. Wanting to avoid any plainclothes Templars, I scaled the building. I hopped three other buildings and used my flight suit to glide down to a fire escape. Accessing my wrist-com's scanner, I started a city-wide scan for known Templar agents. Leaving the program alone, I jumped down into the alley. A quiet signal indicated the scan was done. I pulled up the results. Thankfully there weren't many at all. The ground was probably limiting the signal, so no idea on the numbers at the Louvre.

Okay, priorities. Get in now. I checked the time, and found it was already 4 pm. I decided to attempt another move, but remain on the ground. I removed my flight suit and stored it in my pack. I headed to the museum, but my progress was halted by a huge crowd gathering near the Louvre.

In the distance, I could hear someone talking over the din of the crowds: "...no idea why the premises has been closed to the public, but terrorist activity is suspected. No ransom demands have been made yet, but all police have been rerouted..." Damn, the media already had a grip on this.

I circled around the blockade and slipped through a gap. The path was clear. Too easy, far too easy. I started to sprint, but a long spear appeared out of nowhere, heading straight for me. I allowed my body to fall back and slid to a stop. The weapon embedded itself in the grass to my right. Five Templars rode up to me, all of them on horses clearly bred for speed.

I guessed the one in front was the leader, but that didn't make sense. The rider appeared female, which is not normal for Templar patrols, and no older than 19. Where the hell are these bastards finding their recruits?

"Who are you and how did you get through the blockade?" the woman yelled out as she and her comrades came to me. Perfect ambush.

"You don't need to know anything but this: Rodrigo dies at the hands of Blade-runner tonight!" I shouted back while looking over the heat they were packing. Mostly spears, swords, and possible grenades. Fun times.

"Rodrigo...How dare you!? You dare to kill my father, you-"

"Yes, I do. His actions demand his death. I'm truly sorry for this, but you leave me no choice," I declared, pulling out a throwing knife and throwing it at the Templar to the woman's right. The dagger hit the throat and killed him nearly instantly.

"NO! DIE, ASSASSIN!" the woman shrieked, throwing a good-sized rock at me. I raised my right arm, which turned out to be a mistake. I miscalculated the size, and it nearly sheared my arm from the locking collar on my elbow. As it was, the camouflage was destroyed. Here comes the best part of that mistake.

"Your arm is cybernetic?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, at the hands of a Templar, no less!" I rebutted, reaching for my sword. My hand simply grasped at empty air. I looked over, and what I saw amazed me. My scimitar had somehow melded itself to my arm! I tried it, and it was firmly attached to a small extension in the middle of my arm. "Oh, you are so dead!"

The commander of this patrol ordered the others to attack. They tried to start, but I un-holstered my pistol, quickly putting neat holes through their foreheads with muffled pops. All three fell to the cold ground, bleeding out.

"I have no time to waste with you. Just for the record, what is your name, Templar?" I calmly asked.

"Eponine. Why are you sparing me?"

"Well, your father needs some relative to bury him, now doesn't he?" I told her, rapidly priming and releasing a grenade loaded with sleeping agents at her. "Good night, Eponine, daughter of Rodrigo," I muttered as the grenade released its payload. Eponine started to run from the cloud, but I knew she had inhaled enough to knock her out for a few hours.

I tried to detach my sword, to no avail. I tried to reactivate the hologram projector that covered my arm. Nothing. I figured the rock had damaged the projector itself, so I was screwed there. I tried entering a retracting code, which finally did something. The blade split down the middle and rotated back, locking at the cutting edge. "Wonderful," I said to no one in particular. I chose that moment to check on Eponine. She managed to get 20 meters before collapsing. I knew she was out cold, and wouldn't stir for a couple hours.

I ran the rest of the way with no resistance. The entrance, however, proved to be a challenge. I was hiding behind a bush, so my sight was restricted. I closed my eyes, finding the sense I had been refining for months. I opened my eyes, and I had a perfect view of the doors. Every Templar was marked by a red aura. I counted 14. I knew they had to leave on their own, or I would alert every person at the place.

I reached to my belt and grabbed a cherry bomb. Like a frag, it had a pin safety and a 10 second delay. I ripped the pin out and lobbed the bomb. It landed about 20 meters from the guards. It went off, creating a huge explosion of noise. They all cringed, and went to investigate once they recovered. Pnce they were gone, I slipped in with no mess. I turned my "sixth sense" off, which I call Eagle Vision. This hall was clear for now. I forced myself to ignore the sculptures and paintings around me, despite my overwhelming urge to look. I walked to the closest intersection of the museum, and thought it was safe.

Suddenly, I heard voices from the hall to my right. I ran back and ducked down behind the biggest statue I could find. The voices started to come closer.

"Hey, what's going on? Eponine's patrol hasn't checked in. She always radios in on time. I can't shake this feeling that something's wrong," I heard one of them say. Had I been compromised? "Hey, did you hear that? Sounds like there's something behind there." I wasted no time, running behind another artwork and ran up the wall, hopping between the sculpture and the wall until I could jump to a light fixture.

I hauled myself up and looked down. Two guards, only armed with pistols, but appeared more physical. I had no choice. I had no more knockout 'nades, and I didn't need to kill them. I reached into my pack and rummaged around until my hand found the right item. I primed the charge and dropped it, waiting for the detonation.

The grenade went off, creating an electrical field that disrupted all electronics within the vicinity. As they looked up, I hopped down, springboarding off one wall and landing on the floor. I stood up and reset my sword's original orientation.

"Good afternoon, gents," I said as my sword reconnected. "Tell me, where are you keeping the Assassin?"

"Do you think we know? We just guard this level. We don't know anything else, we swear," the guard on my left said. He was very scared, and appeared no older than 23. This only fueled my anger for the Templars.

"I'm sorry for the sudden appearance. Leave now. Save yourselves from this bloody war. You have lives, go live them."

"Why are you sparing us? We've been told Assassins kill everyone, no matter if the people are innocent."

Typical Templar manipulation. "If that was true, I wouldn't spare you. Please, I can't escape this, but you still can. Get out now, before the bloodbath starts."

They pondered my advice for a moment, and then fled. I knew I made the right decision. Without consciously acting, I withdrew my sword, storing it in my mechanical limb's database. I bent down and grabbed the remains of my EMP grenade, making sure they were stored properly. I walked back to the intersection and checked each adjoining hall. I didn't see any Templars, so I leaned against a wall and primed another scan, searching for Collin's emergency signal. I entered a routine code and waited. The program took three minutes, which was odd.

Finally, a map of the museum came up with the results. There were 20 different sources of the same beacon on my floor! I tried to narrow the search by the signal resolution and got a better result, with only 3 possibilities. I decided to check down the hall on my right, which was the closest point of origin with the same frequency broadcast. I moved slowly, keeping to the shadows in case anyone came along. The hall ended in a closed door with a passcode lock. Without hesitating, I took my pistol and fired one round into the keypad, frying the locking mechanism. I looked over my shoulder, making sure I wasn't compromised.

Once I was sure of my solitude, I kicked the door. It opened right away, just barely staying on its hinges. As the door crashed into the wall, I heard a muffled yelp. That got me right on edge. I carefully reached around and grabbed the light I was carrying. After flicking the switch, the room lit up, and I was quite shocked by what I saw.

There were at least 50 people in the room, all bound with rope and gagged to keep them silent. Everyone I could see was scared out of their minds and clearly tourists, judging by their clothing and expressions. I extended my hidden blade and cut the bindings of the nearest hostage, allowing him to stretch his arms and legs. As I retracted it, he embraced me. I tried to break free, but he wouldn't relent. He finally let me go and told me, "The men who tied us up and locked us in here...he had a strange weapon in his hand. It was roughly spherical and had lines carved all over it. The light it emitted...it told us to walk in here. Who were they?"

Damn, they managed to get some sort of artifact. What could it be? "Listen, I need to ask you something," I said. "Did any of these men have a person dressed like I am in their custody? This is very important." As I was talking, I was going around and freeing the other captives.

He pondered my question for a few seconds. "Why, yes, I believe so. He was roughly my height, with a hood just like yours. He had several cuts and bullet wounds. Why do you ask?"

I stopped in the middle of slicing a girl's bonds. "He's a friend. I fear for his safety," I explained, leaving out any details that might make him suspicious. I grabbed my dagger and tossed it to him, saying, "Here, take this knife and start breaking the ropes. We need to hurry." It took only three minutes to free the rest of the hostages.

"All of you, listen. This building has been invaded by terrorists. Stay close to each other and get out as fast as you can."

One of the people further back yelled out, "What about you? Come with us!"

"I can't. My friend is still inside somewhere, and I won't forgive myself if he is hurt." With that, I ran out the door, tracking another signal resonance. I kept moving, never seeing another soldier along my path. I came to another dead end with a door. I chose to save ammo and slammed my right foot into the door, shattering the lock and shearing the door clean off its hinges. This room, however, was well-lit and virtually empty. A machine was set up in the middle of the room, which looked vaguely familiar. I could see someone strapped into the machine. I walked through the open hole, stepping over several wires and cables. As I approached, I realized two things, both of which fueled my rage. The machine was an Animus, and Collin was hooked up to it!


	13. Chapter 12

Sorry for the delay, but I have school and two other fanfics to worry about. Major writer's block doesn't really help, either. Anyways, enjoy! (Please review, and I still don't own AC.)

Chapter 12

I didn't want to turn the machine off, for fear of damaging Garuda's mind, so I walked over to the controls. Luckily, he wasn't very far in, probably trying to figure out the basics. Entering a simple string of code, the program began to destabilize and pulled Collin out before he was deleted. I knew he wasn't going to be conscious right away, so I checked his vitals. Pulse good, breathing slow but steady. I was about to get him out, but something came from behind me and smashed my head. I hit the ground and blacked out.

When I finally came to, I was on the ground. I couldn't feel my weapons, so I assumed they were gone. My armor was lying in a corner, battered into a pile of junk. My tac-com was missing, so I had no communications. In fact, all I had was a blade on my left arm. My eyes were showing four shadows. Four Templars against one Assassin… good odds. My hearing began to come back, and I overheard the men talking.

"...He's still out. Yes, his weapons are gone. We only need to remove his last blade, and he'll be ready for interrogation. ...Yes sir. All right, you heard me! Starnes, take his blade and bind his arms. Don't fuck up, or Athena will have your head!" one of them barked. Ok, got an ID on the captain. I saw a metal staff on the wall to my left, and I decided to take it. The only thing was how I would get it. The grunt I could only guess was Starnes then came up to me and knelt down by my arm.

"Forgive me, traitor. Your death will serve the Assassins well," I intoned. I silently extended my blade and stabbed his throat. Rolling away, I ran for the weapon, trying to beat the collapse of Starnes.

As my hand touched the cool surface of the staff, Starnes hit the floor with a resounding _crack_. The others turned and saw Starnes first. "He's awake!" one of them shrieked. "Call it in." Two grabbed their assault rifles and placed me in the crosshairs. Before they could fire, I sprinted up to them and destroyed their necks with one quick swing. One flew into a counter and the other crumpled into a heap next to the Animus. The last guard had his ribcage destroyed, but I knew that he had alerted every guard in the damn city!

I knew I needed an advantage, so I put my mind to use. Within five seconds, I had an idea: use the Animus, rifles, and my staff to create an energy weapon. Shoving the captain outside, I jammed the door shut and ripped the panels off the Animus. I removed the data core, about nine feet of electric cable, and a capacitor. I found some surgical tools in a cabinet, and used them to hollow out the staff. Knowing I had little time, I cannibalized the data core, leaving only a power regulation program behind. I shoved the firing computer into a slot I had created and sealed it with a quick weld. I took some of the other components of the data core and built an ion collector, giving me a power source. That was installed lower on the staff. Just as I was going to begin feeding cable in, the door exploded in.

Dozens of Templars poured through the now-larger hole, bearing rifles, swords, and god-knows-what else. Three tried to shoot me, but I grabbed one and shoved him forward. Blood flew everywhere from the man I sacrificed. Pressing the chance, I hopped from guard to guard, cutting throats and rupturing lungs. They all fell, gushing blood everywhere. I decided to leave the door alone and went back to my creation.

I looped the cables through the staff and hooked it up to the computer. The capacitor was quickly modified to store the power I needed and installed. Grabbing one of the rifles, I cut the barrel off and welded it onto the front of the staff. Three quick changes, and the emitter was finished. I took some parts of the firing mechanism and some panels, and created a simple set of rounded plates to protect the business end of my new gun. I caught the sound of running and voices close by.

I had no time to test the staff weapon, so I installed a select-fire switch and a trigger from a rifle, hoping it would work. I brought the staff up to my shoulder, primed the batteries by sending a small electric pulse through them, and made sure the covering opened fully. When I saw the first soldier, I pulled the trigger, and with a satisfying _whump_, the weapon fired a single bolt of pure energy straight into the soldier, stopping him dead.

He fell to the floor, a smoking, gaping hole where his chest used to be. Once I got their attention, the other Templars aimed rifles at me. I flicked the select-fire lever to a multi-burst mode and fired again. Fifteen new, smaller bolts spawned from the staff, striking the guards dead. As I left, I realized I needed a weighted end to serve as a heavier bludgeon. I found a small weight in the room, and carved it into the shape of a king cobra's head. I screwed it onto the opposite end of the staff and carefully darted around the murdered soldiers in the room.

Suddenly, shots rang out from the hall. I saw a head duck down behind a wall of dead men. I ran up to the makeshift cover, jumped over it, and cornered the shooter. Before he could plead for his life, I whipped my staff into his head and incapacitated him. He was still breathing, so I left him to recover.

I fled down the hall, wary of, shall we say, domestic problems. I knew finding Collin was virtually out of the question for now, so I placed that goal on the bottom of the list. I knew that I was compromised and could be recaptured, so I decided to find Rodrigo and end his pathetic grease stain of an existence as fast as humanly possible. Suddenly, a small patrol rounded the corner. "Assassin!" they yelled, shouldering their weapons. I brought my staff up and pulled the trigger, but all I heard was the sound of loose electricity. I realized that the wiring I had used to feed power to the staff was burned out in the second shot. I was defenseless.

They fired, but I didn't move, not fearing their pathetic attempt to kill me. Most of the bullets went wide, but two embedded themselves in my arm. Astonished, I shoved my hand into my pocket, and felt empty air around my hand. The Shard was gone, and my final defense with it! Then I noticed the wounds, and that pissed me off. I blinked, and triggered my Eagle Vision. When I opened my eyes, though, the room had turned red instead of the usual blue-white. As I looked on, the guards fired at me. I jumped out of the way, but didn't hear any gunshots. The shots rang out three seconds later! I decided to try a quick experiment.

I shot off the floor straight at the wall. Right before I killed myself, I jackknifed my body around, landing on my feet sideways. I shoved off again, flying right into the guards. I swept my staff under their legs and tripped them. As they fell in slow motion, I pulled the staff up and pinned them to the ground. They struggled, but I refused to let them up.

"Make this easy on yourselves. Tell me where your master is, and you go free." Two of them looked at me and just laughed. "Why should we give you anything, Assassi-" they spat out. Before they could finish, I methodically slashed their throats. The third guy was clearly scared shitless, and quickly gushed, "He's on the lowest level, conference room 11G! Some weird-ass woman with him. Some sort of tactics meeting, I think." I had no more use for him, so I removed the staff from his chest. He sprang up and ran for an exit. I blinked, and my vision was normal again. I noticed less weight in my hands, so I checked my weapon. The weight on the end had been cleanly sheared off, leaving nothing behind, but I didn't really care. I tossed the ruined staff away, knowing it would only slow me down.

I knew that every second I wasted was more time for Collin to give something away, so I ran. Just as I turned the corner, I caught sight of two heavily armed guards. Before they saw me, I turned right around and pinned myself to the wall. I leaned around the wall, trying to assess their capabilities. Both had light machine guns, 45 caliber sidearms, several grenades, knives, and bulletproof vests. I reached back and removed a flash grenade of my own. I pulled the pin and lofted it, where it landed right in front of the men. I covered my ears and pulled back, feeling the shock-wave more than hearing it. I thought the guards were down, but when I checked, they were still standing as they were. It was like they hadn't even heard the explosion. I knew that I needed to get past them, but had no good plan.

I chose a last-ditch option. I took a smoke grenade out and pulled the pin. I rolled it down the hall, and made sure it went off before I ran over to them and shot both of them down with my pistol. I couldn't wait for the smoke to clear, so I put several bullets into the door and kicked it in, running into the room. Right as I entered, my left arm was grabbed. I didn't stop moving, though, and I felt my arm snap. I fell forward and landed on my broken arm. Massive amounts of pain shot through my left arm, just as I felt my right arm completely torn out of its socket. Two men pulled me up and forced me into a chair, binding my useless arms behind me. My weapons were taken from me and thrown where I couldn't reach them. With tears stinging my eyes, I looked up at my captors.

The man, who could only be Athena, was average height and had brown hair, dark green eyes, business suit complete with tie, and the strange woman the guard told me about stood in the middle of the room. She was holding a snake-like thing, and my partner was right there!

Before I could say anything, the woman said, "Don't try to wake your 'friend.' He fought against it for so long, but he gave in. Collin is no longer an Assassin, and you will follow him!" Just barely audible, "You sick piece of shit. Cowards…all of you." Thankfully, my prosthetic arm was still attached, so I reached back and grabbed a pistol, quickly shooting both guards through the head. I lost focus, and shot wide of the woman. I aimed at Athena's chest and fired, rewarding me with an explosion of blood. I dropped the gun, satisfied with my work. Suddenly, a gun pressed itself into my head. "See you in hell, my boy," the woman said. I heard the shot and, for the second time that day, blacked out.


End file.
